Governor for gas-engines



QM E N I .G N TE M E N T R m R E V 0 G M" d 0 M o m No. 601,190. Patented Mar. 22,1898.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

REUBEN WILLETTS, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA,

GOVERNOR FOR GAS-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,190, dated March 22, 1898. Application filed February 10, 1897. Serial No. 622,851. (N0

To aZlwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN WILLErTs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of'Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Governors for Gas-Engines and I do declare the following to-be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference, marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of an explosive-engine, showing the invention applied thereto, the cylinder and valvechamber being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with the balance-wheel shown in section. Fig. 3 is a view of the balance-wheel detached, with the cam and centrifugal device in connection therewith. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view showing the valvechamber and valve. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of parts of the governor.

This invention is designedto providea governor of improved character for controlling the speed and varying the horse-power of explosive-engines and is adapted for use in connection with all engines of this character which have separate mixing and explosive chambers.

Broadly considered, the invent-ion consists in thecombination, with an engine of this character, of means operating independently of the inlet valve or valves for controlling the volume of the explosive charge and making the same in all cases in direct proportion to the load or work performed. a

It further consists in connecting the explosive and mixing chambers by a suitable port or passage v with governor-- operated valve mechanism, whereby upon the forward stroke of the piston which compresses the charge in the explosion-chamber a certain portion thereof is passed back to the mixing-chamber if the load on the engine is reduced or the engine is running at less than its full horsepower, the portion passed back being in direot proportion to the decrease of load or reduction of horse-power.

The invention also consists in a centrifugally-acting governor of improved character for controlling the action of the said valve mechanism also, in means in connection with said governor whereby the latter may be set to cause the engine to run at any desired horse-power under its full horse-power.

Finally, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, all as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown the invention applied to one type of explosive-engine, the letter A designates the engine-bed; B, the main shaft; 0, the balance-wheel thereon; D, the cylinder; E, the piston, and F the pitman connecting said piston with the crank of the main shaft.

On the front head of the cylinder is a valvechamber G, which is connected by a port 9 with the explosive-chamber of the cylinder and by a port g with the mixing-chamber.

g is a port which connects the two ports g g and which is controlled by a vertically-movable valve H.

I is the inlet-valve, I the exhaust-port, and I the ignition tube.

J is a cam which is fixed to rotate on the main shaft, but is adapted to move longitu-.

dinally thereon. Said cam has an eccentric bearin g-surface ,7'.

r J is a spring which tends, to hold said cam in normal position and in contact with the yoke, now to be described.

K is a slotted yoke which loosely engages the shaft B between said cam and the balancewheeland carrying at one end a weight K, which is connected by a link K with a spoke of said wheel. Attached to the opposite arm of the yoke is a counter-spring K whose opposite end is connected to a threaded rod K Said rod has a bearing inathreaded adj usting-sleeve K seated in the rim of said wheel and by means of which the tension of the spring is adj usted. On the inner face of said yoke-arm are wedge-shaped projections k, which are designed to engage similar projections k on the adjacent face of the cam.

L is a short rock-shaft which is journaled in bearings of the engine-bed and has at one end a crank-arm L, which carries a roller L adapted to engage the bearing-face of the cam. The pin Z, on which said roller is journalcd, is adjustable toward and away from the cam, having a threaded engagement with said arm and a lock-nut Z. 011 the opposite end of the shaft L is a crank-arm M, from which extends a connecting-rod N to a crank O of rock-shaft O, which is journaled to the front cylinderhead. Said rock-shaft O has an arm P,which engages the stem of the valve 11.

The operation is as follows: If the engine is running under a full load and a portion of the load is taken off, the engine will as a result move faster, causing the weight K to fly out against the tension of the spring K and its wedge projections 7a to engage the corresponding projections 7; of the cam. Said cam is consequently pushed along the shaft B toward the roller L*, which will then work on the bearing portion j for a length of time in proportion to the distance the cam has been moved, which distance, as is obvious, is in direct proportion to the speed of the engine.

During the time the said roller is engaging the cam the valve H is, through the connections described, held open, and free communication is made between the mixing and explosion chambers of the cylinder. During the movement of the piston from the position thereof shown in Fig. 1 to the end of the cylinder a charge of air and gas is drawn in through the inlet, and upon the return stroke this charge is somewhat compressed and forced through the port or passage g and the "alve II (which opens freely to pressure in this direction) into the head end or explosionchamber of the cylinder. Upon the next forward stroke the charge is compressed in the said chamber and a new charge is drawn into the mixing-chamber. If the valve H be closed, the entire charge will be exploded as the crank passes the near or forward center; but if said valve has been opened a portion of the charge will have passed back by the same into the passage 9 and to the mixing-chamber. The amount of the charge which passes back in this manner depends upon the length of time the valve H has been held open, which, as is above described, is in direct proportion to the speed of the engine.

For example, if a fifteen-horse-power engine is running under full load and if a portion of the load equal to five-horse power is taken off the action of the governor is such as to pass back such a proportion of the charge that the following explosion will be but tenhorse power in strength or whatever might be necessary to keep engine running in accordance with the load remaining. If the entire load is thrown off, a sufficiently large portion of the charge passes back, so that no explosion takes place until needed to keep the engine at speed. A spring S is provided to act upon the connecting-rod N to permit the valve H to close so soon as the roller L leaves its contact with the cam and to insure said valve being closed when the explosion takes place.

The horse-power of the engine is varied by adjusting the roller L toward and away from the cam, so that it will fora longer or shorter time during each revolution travel on the bearing portion of said cam and thereby pass back to the mixing-chamber a corresponding proportion of the charge. B y this adjustment the horse-power can be reduced any desired degree and a steady speed at the same time maintained under changes of load.

An important advantage gained over those engines which are controlled by the operation of the outlet-valve to admit a charge of greater or less volume is that I always have a full charge admitted upon the return stroke to drive out through the exhaust the products of combustion of the previous explosion.

I do not desire to limit myself to any particular form or location of the valve H, or to the connections between the same and the governor, or to the arrangement of the passages g g, as it is obvious that the sameimay be changed or varied in many respects without affecting the spirit and scope of my invention; nor do I wish to limit myself to the use of the precise governor herein described and shown.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an explosive-engine having a mixing and an explosive chamber, a passage directly connecting the two chambers, a normallyclosed valve which controls the said passage, and an antomatically-operating governor device acting under certain conditions of load to hold said valve open for a greater or less period during each compression-stroke of the engine,whereby a portion of the explosi ve charge is returned to the mixing-chamber, together with means for exploding the residue of the charge left in the explosive-chamber, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the main shaft of an engine, and its balance-wheel, of a slotted yoke mounted on said shaft, a weight on one arm of said yoke, a spring connected to the other arm thereof, a cam movable longitudinally on said shaft and engaged by said yoke, said cam having an eccentric operating portion, and a valve-operating device arranged to engage said operating portion for a longer or shorter time during each revolution upon proper movement of the cam, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with the main shaft of an engine, and with a centrifugally-acting device thereon, a cam also mounted upon said shaft and movable longitudinally thereon, under the action of said device, of a rock-arm operatively connected with a valve of the engine and having a bearing device adapted under certain conditions to engage the said cam,

IIO

- 601,190 I a e I and means for adjusting said device toward and away from the cam, substantially as specified 4E. The combination with an explosive-engine, having a mixing-chamber and an explosion-chamber, connected by a passage, of a valve which controls said passage and opens freely toward the mixing chamber, a centrifugal governor mounted on the main shaft,

of the engine and having a cam movable 1ongitudinally on said shaft by the action of said governor, a rock-shaft having a bearing de- 

